The Moment I Realized the Beauty of the Human Condition

Humans are complicated creatures. From the color of our skin to the texture of our hair, the differences are easy to count. We come from different backgrounds and cultures. We speak differently, and act differently, and think differently. We live with different struggles and goals and lives. And because of this, sometimes it feels overwhelmingly easy to find loneliness during difficult or challenging times. Who can understand what's going on in the confines of your own mind? Who cares to?

These differences beg the idea that in order to help one another, we have to understand the situation. But what if you can't? What if the language barrier is too large? What if you have different religious beliefs? What if you simply don't agree with their perspective? Does it really matter?

Natural disasters, crime, sickness, heartbreak—it all exists and it hurts. These things don't discriminate. When the Twin Towers fell, it was a moment of shock and trauma for people all over the United States. First responders, emergency workers, and more worked day and night to help settle the dust. When bushfires raged Australia, it seemed to happen so quickly, like no one saw it coming. Kind thoughts and generous donations flooded the country from all over the world. When your best friend's mother received a heartbreaking medical diagnosis, it didn't matter whether or not you truly knew what that felt like. You were there. In moments like these, we hope things will get better. Because that's the best thing we do.

We have an uncanny ability to seek love and connection everywhere we go. Because truly, we want to support one another. It's what makes our world turn—not scientifically, of course, it's more of a matter of the heart. But I think above all it's innate. Love isn't always a choice. Sometimes it's just something we do. But hope? Hope is always a choice. And the magic of choosing to do better and be better is the most human condition of them all.

It was never a single moment that I realized this. It was moments built up over time—from the first time my mother scooped me up in her arms after gashing my knee on a bad fall to the first time a friend held my hand when I cried over a boy who had broken my heart. I didn't realize it then. I didn't realize what this support was building up inside of me. I don't think anybody really does. Yes, it's kind, and yes, we're appreciative, but we also see it so often that we think it's natural—to support someone without question or judgment. We don't acknowledge it like we should because we're taught to look at the things that hurt and focus on that anger and frustration. And while there's a healthy element of understanding your negative feelings, it brings us further and further away from the positive ones we can find in these moments. Hope is everywhere. All we have to do is choose it.

Sometimes that's much easier said than done. And I've recognized that. Sometimes it takes work. Sometimes it feels fake. But sometimes there's comfort in knowing you are not alone. Knowing that you yourself can hope for better.

It's no secret that our world is incredibly unstable right now. A global pandemic isn't something we're ever wired to think about. It's one of those things we know can happen, but don't think ever will. So when it does, it shakes us. And it's hard to hope when there isn't anything we can really hold on to.

And I can't sit here and say I know things will get better. I cry for those who are suffering. I cry for those who have lost something. I cry for those who fear everything. And I also hope. I hope we can come together and turn this around. I hope we can take care of each other. I hope for better because choosing hope is the best thing I can do right now. And really, what's the harm in it?

The moment I realized the beauty of the human condition was the moment I found something to hold on to in times of sadness and stress. Hope is the best thing that we do. It's better than happiness or love, because hope is always a choice. We choose to do better and be better every day. And that's beautiful.